Table of Contents
Can You Drink Tap Water in Owensboro?
Yes, Owensboro's tap water is generally considered safe to drink as Owensboro has no active health based violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) that we are aware of. Other factors such as lead piping in a home, or low levels of pollutants on immunocompromised individuals, should also be considered, however. To find more recent info we might have, you can check out our boil water notice page or the city's water provider website.
According the EPA’s ECHO database, from April 30, 2019 to June 30, 2022, Owensboro's water utility, Owensboro Municipal Utilities, had 0 violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. For more details on the violations, please see our violation history section below. The last violation for Owensboro was resolved on Dec. 31, 2016. This assessment is based on the Owensboro Municipal Utilities water system, other water systems in the city may have different results.
While tap water that meets the EPA health guidelines generally won’t make you sick to your stomach, it can still contain regulated and unregulated contaminants present in trace amounts that could potentially cause health issues over the long-run. These trace contaminants may also impact immunocompromised and vulnerable individuals.
The EPA is reviewing if it’s current regulations around pollutant levels in tap water are strict enough, and the health dangers posed by unregulated pollutants, like PFAS.
Owensboro Tap Water Safe Drinking Water Act Violation History - Prior 10 Years
Below is a ten year history of violations for the water system named Owensboro Municipal Utilities for Owensboro in Kentucky. For more details please see the "What do these Violations Mean?" section below.
From Dec. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 2016, Owensboro had 1 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Monitoring Violation, more specifically, the violation code was Monitoring, Routine (RTCR) which falls into the Microbials rule code group, and the Total Coliform Rules rule code family for the following contaminant code: Revised Total Coliform Rule.
For the compliance period beginning July 1, 2014, Owensboro had 1 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Other Violation, more specifically, the violation code was Consumer Confidence Report Inadequate Reporting which falls into the Other rule code group, and the Consumer Confidence Rule rule code family for the following contaminant code: Consumer Confidence Rule.
Is there Lead in Owensboro Water?
Based on the EPA’s ECHO Database, 90% of the samples taken from the Owensboro water system, Owensboro Municipal Utilities, between sample start date and sample end date, were at or below, 0.0 mg/L of lead in Owensboro water. This is 0% of the 0.015 mg/L action level. This means 10% of the samples taken from Owensboro contained more lead.
While Owensboro water testing may have found 0.0 mg/L of lead in its water, that does not mean your water source has the same amount. The amount of lead in water in a city can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood, or even building to building. Many buildings, particularly older ones, have lead pipes or service lines which can be a source of contamination. To find out if your home has lead, we recommend getting you water tested.
No amount of lead in water is healthy, only less dangerous. As lead accumulates in our bodies over time, even exposure to relatively small amounts can have negative health effects. For more information, please check out our Lead FAQ page.
Are there PFAS in Owensboro Tap Water?
Currently, testing tap water for PFAS isn’t mandated on a national level. We do have a list of military bases where there have been suspected or confirmed leaks. There appears to be at least one military base - W.H. Ford Regional Training Center - near Owensboro with suspected leaks.
With many potential sources of PFAS in tap water across the US, the best information we currently have about which cities have PFAS in their water is this ewg map, which you can check to see if Owensboro has been evaluated for yet.
Our stance is better safe than sorry, and that it makes sense to try to purify the tap water just in case.
Owensboro SDWA Violation History Table - Prior 10 Years
| Compliance Period | Status | Health-Based? | Category Code | Code | Rule Code | Contaminant Code | Rule Group Code | Rule Family Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/01/2016 - 12/31/2016 | Resolved | No | Monitoring Violation (MON) | Monitoring, Routine (RTCR) (3A) | Revised Total Coliform Rule (111) | Revised Total Coliform Rule (8000) | Microbials (100) | Total Coliform Rules (110) |
| 07/01/2014 - | Resolved | No | Other Violation (Other) | Consumer Confidence Report Inadequate Reporting (72) | Consumer Confidence Rule (420) | Consumer Confidence Rule (7000) | Other (400) | Consumer Confidence Rule (420) |
What do these Violations Mean?
Safe Drinking Water Act Violations categories split into two groups, health based, and non-health based. Generally, health based violations are more serious, though non-health based violations can also be cause for concern.
Health Based Violations
- Maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) - maximum allowed contaminant level was exceeded.
- Maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs) - maximum allowed disinfectant level was exceeded.
- Other violations (Other) - the exact required process to reduce the amounts of contaminants in drinking water was not followed.
Non-Health Based Violations
- Monitoring and reporting violations (MR, MON) - failure to conduct the required regular monitoring of drinking water quality, and/or to submit monitoring results on time.
- Public notice violations (Other) - failure to immediately alert consumers if there is a serious problem with their drinking water that may pose a risk to public health.
- Other violations (Other) - miscellaneous violations, such as failure to issue annual consumer confidence reports or maintain required records.
SDWA Table Key
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Compliance Period | Dates of the compliance period. |
| Status |
Current status of the violation.
|
| Health-Based? | Whether the violation is health based. |
| Category Code |
The category of violation that is reported.
|
| Code | A full description of violation codes can be accessed in the SDWA_REF_CODE_VALUES (CSV) table. |
| Contaminant Code | A code value that represents a contaminant for which a public water system has incurred a violation of a primary drinking water regulation. |
| Rule Code |
Code for a National Drinking Water rule.
|
| Rule Group Code |
Code that uniquely identifies a rule group.
|
| Rule Family Code |
Code for rule family.
|
For more clarification please visit the EPA's data dictionary.
Owensboro Water - Frequently Asked Questions
| By Mail: | PO BOX 806 OWENSBORO, KY, 42302 |
Existing customers can login to their Owensboro Municipal Utilities account to pay their Owensboro water bill by clicking here.
If you want to pay your Owensboro Municipal Utilities bill online and haven't made an account yet, you can create an account online. Please click here to create your account to pay your Owensboro water bill.
If you don't want to make an account, or can't remember your account, you can make a one-time payment towards your Owensboro water bill without creating an account using a one time payment portal with your account number and credit or debit card. Click here to make a one time payment.
Moving to a new house or apartment in Owensboro means you will often need to put the water in your name with Owensboro Municipal Utilities. In order to put the water in your name, please click the link to the start service form below. Start service requests for water bills typically take two business days.
Leaving your house or apartment in Owensboro means you will likely need to take your name off of the water bill with Owensboro Municipal Utilities. In order to take your name off the water bill, please click the link to the stop service form below. Stop service for water bills requests typically take two business days.
The estimated price of bottled water
$1.5 in USD (1.5-liter)
USER SUBMITTED RATINGS
- Drinking Water Pollution and Inaccessibility
- Water Pollution
- Drinking Water Quality and Accessibility
- Water Quality
The above data is comprised of subjective, user submitted opinions about the water quality and pollution in Owensboro, measured on a scale from 0% (lowest) to 100% (highest).
Related FAQS
Contaminants
Owensboro Municipal Utilities
EWG's drinking water quality report shows results of tests conducted by the water utility and provided to the Environmental Working Group by the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, as well as information from the U.S. EPA Enforcement and Compliance History database (ECHO). For the latest quarter assessed by the U.S. EPA (January 2019 - March 2019), tap water provided by this water utility was in compliance with federal health-based drinking water standards.
Utility details
- Serves: 67691
- Data available: 2012-2017
- Data Source: Groundwater
- Total: 11
Contaminants That Exceed Guidelines
- Arsenic
- Chromium (hexavalent)
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs)
Other Detected Contaminants
- 1%2C4-Dioxane
- Barium
- Chlorate
- Fluoride
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Molybdenum
- Strontium
- Vanadium
Reminder
Always take extra precautions, the water may be safe to drink when it leaves the sewage treatment plant but it may pick up pollutants during its way to your tap. We advise that you ask locals or hotel staff about the water quality. Also, note that different cities have different water mineral contents.
Sources and Resources
Sources Cited
Additional Resources
I don’t understand some people when they say that they want to purify their tap water in Owensboro, KY because they will not do anything until something happens. They believe if they wait long enough, they will never have to deal with any of this because the water in Owensboro is “great.” I would call that a lack of commitment to excellence. The truth is that if you wait long enough, you will get what you pay for, and unfortunately, sometimes in this day and age, you have to take what you can get, and in this case, that means you must have good tap water in Owensboro.
Well, you do not have to wait for something to happen because you can purchase quality equipment to purify your water right here in Owensboro. If you want to make sure that what you drink is clean, you should make sure that you have a quality water filter system installed in your home. When you have a water filter system in place, you can rest assured that every drop of your drinking water that runs through your faucets in Owensboro will be pure and free from impurities.
If you want to know more about filtering your tap water in Owensboro, KY, or anywhere else in Kentucky, then the best place to do that is online. The internet has thousands of suppliers and distributors that can help you get the quality filtration system you need to clean your tap water in Owensboro. So, the next time you are faced with the decision to purchase quality purification equipment for your home, don’t let your hesitation hold you back. Instead, do some research online today and find the supplier or distributor that is right for you and your family. You will be glad that you did once you see how much difference it can make when you have clean tap water in Owensboro.